| The Manta Underwater Room is not only a fantastic place but also a great story. If you ask me there is a story behind all of this that is much more important.
The Manta Resort is the driving force behind making Pemba a better place for local people. For example by building a school, a health center, an organic farm where the villages can buy vegetables at cost price, educating fishermen to avoid overfishing and even being involved in creating a reef conservation area.
“Pemba is still unexploited but the tipping point is near and the future of the island depends heavily on the impact that tourism will have. Tourism has only just begun influencing change here and it is our mission to contribute by sharing our culture we call “KWANINI”, meaning “WHY” in Swahili, the predominant language in East Africa. Through work with the local communities and workshops with the government and all stakeholders in the industry, we have articulated a vision for the future of Pemba and found common belief in this pursuit. It has brought everyone together and is now the driving force for our work, from the President, Vice Presidents and the Minister of Tourism through to all involved in education, health, environment, land, investors and local communities. When discussing the future we always pose the simple question “Why do we want tourism on Pemba Island”. You can imagine what transpires following this question and have held two workshops, the latest being last June 3rd and 4th 2013, based on the resounding success of the last one. The workshop/seminar is called “Kwanini Utalii Kwa Wote” which translated means “Why Tourism For All”. This has the potential of securing a brighter future for a the whole region.” /Matthew Saus, Managing Director at The Manta Limited
I hope someone reading this will write that story. If so I have the photos to back up the article. Check out www.themantaresort.com/kwanini-pemba for more info. |
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